For the Christian, everything begins with “. . . God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1) – for the atheist, it either begins with a bang, or it has no beginning at all. My point isn’t to compare the two beliefs, but rather to point out how similar they are in their simplicity. Each presupposing an explanation that follows a narrative – each one inexplicable in its own way . . . and each one inviting us to ponder a mystery. One narrative entreats a personal engagement with the question of meaning as to why we exist, while the other narrative impersonally attempts to explore the question of how it is we exist. But each one seeks to place us rightly in context with our own existence
When pondering a mystery, questions of both why and how will invariably come into play – but inescapably, the prerequisite for any question we might ask is a contextualizing criterion by which the answers might be discovered and understood. Such a criterion is what I mean by narrative – a narrative that allows a through-line to be created for evaluating the meaning and significance of what’s being pondered. To be sure, a narrative will be in play whether we’re aware of it or not, because nothing can be coherently pondered without a contextualizing criterion . . . no matter how much you might pretend you aren’t employing one.
So as a Christian, my confession is that God, out of his own existence, speaks the universe into being – that being itself is from God and of God . . . and that beneath creation is a language that not only initiates, but also sustains, the world we live in. Every molecule of existence functions as if it were a string of code – as if it were the code-language syntax of creation. And all of the scientific disciplines are discovering and validating this truth with every turn they take – unlocking the mystery of how the world exists . . . while the truth of why we exist is summed up in a single word.
John 1: 1-5 is meant to be taken as a reiteration of Genesis 1: 1-5 – but not as a restatement, but rather as a harmonizing statement: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” This is the way John chooses to introduce us to Jesus – as the Word at the beginning . . . the Word that created everything.
Then in Colossians 1: 15-17 Paul offers us another harmonizing line: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” For me, this answers the question of why we exist – we exist through and for Jesus – he is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), he is the light of the world (John 8:12) He is the first Word, and the final Word (Revelation1:8) . . . and every Word in between.
. . . so, let us remember it is His Kingdom we serve.
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